Performance gaming can cost you a bundle these days. Even though the cost of the components has come down the cost for the gaming grade cases has not. You are still looking at one hundred and some change for a mid-tower case and two hundred plus if your go full tower. Granted there are some exceptions to the rule and the Thermaltake Element T is one such case. Coming in at under a hundred bucks it is a serious competitor with all of the extra spots for future case improvement. There aren’t too many cases out there that will come in under one hundred with a fan over 120mm’s like the Thermaltake Element T, so let’s get a look at it closer: Provided By: Thermaltake
Price: $99.99
Closer Look:
Specifications and Features:
 |
Tactic – Tactical appearance for optimal gaming experience |
|
Transformable – Preserved fan opening for 120mm to 200mm at top and front panel, 120mm to 230mm at side panel |
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Titanic – Massive storage capability with 7 x 3.5� and 1x 2.5 HDD or SSD bay |
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TtXGameShield – Security lock for keyboard & mouse for Lanparty event |
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Transportation – Thumb screws for 3.5�, 5.25� devices and PCI slots for secure transportation |
| Case Type | Middle Tower |
| Material |
SECC |
| Front Bezel Material | Plastic |
| Color | Black |
| Side Panel | N/A |
| Motherboard Support | Micro ATX, Standard ATX |
| Motherboard Tray | No |
| 5.25″ Drive Bay | 3 |
| Ext. 3.5″ Drive Bay | 1 |
| Int. 3.5″ Drive Bay | 6 |
| Expansion Slots | 7 |
| Front I/O Ports | USB 2.0 x 2, HD Audio x 1 |
| Cooling System | Front (intake) : Optional 120 x 120 x 25 mm fan x 2 or 140 x 140 x 25 mm fan x 2 or 200 x 200 x 20 mm fan x 1 Rear (exhaust) : Top (exhaust) : Side (intake) : Optional |
| Liquid Cooling Capable | No |
| Liquid Cooling Embedded | No |
| Power Supply Supported | Standard ATX PSII(optional) |
| Power Supply Included | No |
| Dimension (H*W*D) | 525 (H) x 210 (W)x 480(L) mm 20.7 (H) in x 210 (W) x 480(L) in |
| Net Weight | 15.32lbs 6.95 kg |
| Security Lock | |
| Application | |
| Warranty | 3 year |
Testing Setup:
- Asus P6T SEX58 Motherboard
- Core i7 920 CPU
- 6GB Crucial Balistix 8-8-8-24 1600mHz
- Asus EAH 4850
- 750 GB Seagate Barracuda
- Vista Ultimate 64bit
- Inwin 850 Commander Series PSU
- EAH 4850
Testing:
For testing I will regulate the room temperature at a constant 23 Degrees Celsius. I will be making note of the idle and load of the gpu, cpu, HDD, and ambient case temps for all of the cases. The cases being tested will be the Zero 2 (with full fan compliment), Azza Fantom 900, and the Thermaltake Element T.
|
Case |
CPU |
GPU |
HDD |
Case |
|
NZXT |
Idle: 30 Load: 40 |
Idle: 70 Load: 70 |
Idle: 32 Load: 32 |
Idle: 24 Load: 24 |
|
AZZA |
Idle: 31 Load: 43 |
Idle: 64 Load: 66 |
Idle: 26 Load: 26 |
Idle: 24 Load: 24 |
|
Thermaltake |
Idle: 32 Load: 42 |
Idle: 72 Load: 78 |
Idle: 26 Load: 28 |
Idle: 25 Load: 26 |
Over all the NZXT did the best but in order to achieve those temps I added the optional 4 120mm fans and the 2 extra 80mm fans which also included the stock 3 120mm fans. That being said the clear winner between the azza and the Thermaltake was the AZZA Fantom 900. Without the optional side fan installed on the Element T the GPU temps are drastically affected. Let’s See the final thoughts:
Conclusion:
Overall it was a great case for its price, looks, features, and cooling makes this a definite contender. With some of the optional add-ons I am sure this case would be a killer gaming chassis for your next build. I love the red LED’s and the front panels honey comb style is awesome.
Would I recommend this product? Yup, if you are gaming on a budget I would say any budget chassis that throws in a 200mm fan stock is definitely the one to reach for. The other nice part about this case is the addition of a 2.4 slot for those of you running, or dreaming of running a SSD.
Pros:
- Big Fan
- Price
- Style
- Lockable
- Anti-Theft Peripheral Lock
- Bottom Mounter PSU
Cons:
- Flimsy Tool-less
